WNBA star claims her former team traded her because she got pregnant

A two-time WNBA All-Star claims her former team traded her because she got it pregnant with her second child.

on 09/18, Dearica Hamby, 29, and the rest of the Las Vegas Aces won their first WNBA championship. Hamby, a 6-foot-3 forward, had started her career with the Aces eight years ago when they were then the San Antonio Silver Stars and was instrumental in bringing the championship to Las Vegas in 2022 despite a knee injury.

During the team’s public celebration later that month, Hamby announced that she was pregnant with their second child:

Hamby already had one child while he was a member of the Aces and gave birth to daughter Amaya in 2017.

On Saturday, the Aces announced they had traded Hamby to the Los Angeles Sparks. Though Hamby admitted trades are “part of the business,” she claimed in a lengthy Instagram message that the Aces attacked her “character and work ethic” and traded her because of her pregnancy.

Hamby claimed the Aces initially “bullied, manipulated and discriminated against” them during contract negotiations. Already in June, Hamby a contract extension which would pay her $169,000 for the 2023 and 2024 seasons, though she claimed the team hadn’t kept all of its promises. “I was promised things to get me to sign my contract extension that weren’t kept,” she said.

Hamby also claimed the team accused her of signing that contract while she was “knowingly pregnant”. “That’s wrong,” she insisted.

Hamby claimed this second pregnancy was unplanned. However, she also hinted that she would not have signed a contract that would try to prevent her from conceiving. “Did the team expect me to promise not to get pregnant in exchange for the contract extension?” she asked rhetorically.

She also claimed that the aces viewed her as “a question mark” and admonished her for “not taking precautions to avoid getting pregnant.” Although Hamby reportedly told the Aces several times that she intended to play the 2023 season as usual and had consistently trained alone and with team staff to maintain her physical condition despite her pregnancy, the team denied she was taking her workouts “seriously ” and that she could potentially be ready by the end of the season in mid-May, she said.

“[W]We need bodies,” the Aces reportedly told Hamby.

sports journalist Miriam Swanson examined the details of Hamby’s trade deal and suggested that pregnancy discrimination may have played a role. The Aces gave Hamby, a two-time All-Star, and a 2024 first-round draft pick in exchange for a 2024 second-round pick and Amanda Zahui B., a backup center that was suspended for the entire 2022 season. Swanson characterized the trade as “one-sided”.

A recently collective agreement Attempts to protect WNBA players from pregnancy discrimination. Pregnant players now receive their full salary instead of half what they received in the past, and teams can now replace a squad player who is on maternity leave with minimum salary replacement without affecting the team’s salary cap.

The Aces have not commented on Hamby’s allegations, but the WNBA players’ union released a statement promising “a full investigation.”

In her Instagram post, Hamby said goodbye to her Las Vegas teammates and fans, promising those LA teammates and fans that she’s “moving forward” and “excited to start a new chapter.”

On May 27th, the Aces will host their first home game of the 2023 season – against the LA Sparks.

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